Bathroom Break
by smuffly
Summary: Aiden has an unexpected encounter at a crime scene. Part of Leslie Emm's Fic Challenge. The characters chosen at random were Aiden Burn and Samantha Flack.


**BATHROOM BREAK**

**A/N: This little story is part of Leslie Emm's challenge, which involved the random selection of two characters. This time, I ended up with Aiden Burn and Samantha Flack. Hope you like what I did with them. Reviews would be very much appreciated.**

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They were waiting for her - Danny and Scagnetti - like a couple of naughty schoolboys, all knowing looks and nudging elbows. Aiden frowned.

"Okay - what? You got some kind of bet goin' on that I don't know about?" she demanded.

"Of course not." Danny's expression was one of wounded innocence. Which meant trouble, in Aiden's book. She glanced around the room, trying to find the source of their amusement.

Dead body: a bleach-blonde rich kid, dressed in nothing more than her underwear, and a pair of bunny ears. Which would have been cute, if it weren't for the stab wound in her belly, and the muddled, bloody prints that gave such a vivid picture of her final moments.

Crime scene: the ugly wreckage of a sorority house. There was trace on the floor that Aiden didn't even want to think about, let alone study, and so many broken pieces of furniture that the room looked less like the aftermath of a party and more like the scene of a bar-room brawl.

Witnesses: currently being herded out of the way by a group of uniformed officers. Frightened kids, the lot of them; out in the real world, and out of their depth. _Poor things,_ thought Aiden, with an unexpected pang of sympathy.

She turned back to Danny. "I don't see it," she said. "What's so funny?"

"No joke." Danny shook his head and tried not to catch Scagnetti's eye. "Think of it more as... a challenge." He pointed to a nearby door. "One with your name on it, so to speak."

"Get to the point, Messer."

Feeling a little guilty, Scagnetti broke in. "There's a girl in there," he explained. "And she won't come out."

"So go in and get her." Aiden's face was puzzled. "What - is she armed, or somethin'?"

"No," said Danny. "She's throwin' up."

Aiden snorted with laughter. "Messer, you deal with all kinds of crap on a daily basis. You can't deal with _that_?"

"It's the girl's bathroom." Danny looked wounded. "I'm being a gentleman."

"That'll be the day." With an air of absolute smugness, Aiden left the two men feeling more than a little deflated, as she marched up to the door and rapped on it smartly.

"Leave me alone," said a wretched voice.

"Sorry - can't do that. I'm comin' in now. Okay?"

"Whatever..." The grim sound of retching grew louder as Aiden opened the bathroom door and peered around it.

The first thing she saw was a mop of long dark hair, and a white face that lifted to greet her with a look of total embarrassment - and something else. Was that... humour?

"Hi..." said the girl. "Nice to meet you."

"Um - sure." Aiden gazed at the curled up figure. "You too. I'm Aiden Burn. I'm a CSI. And you need to leave, I'm afraid. This is a crime scene."

"Easier said than done." The girl pulled a face. "I'm Sam. And this is my new best friend." She hugged the toilet bowl. Aiden grinned.

"I get it. Believe me, I do. Take a moment, okay?"

"Thanks." Sam dragged a trembling hand across her forehead, which was plastered with sweat. "Not my best look, I'm afraid," she continued, catching Aiden's eye upon her. "And, you know, I wasn't even supposed to be here. I'm not one of these rich-bitch exclusive types. My room-mate dragged me along. Said we'd have fun..."

"And where is she now? Your room-mate?"

"Not sure..." Sam looked queasy for a moment. They stared at one other in dismay.

"Take a deep breath," Aiden suggested. "Think about something else."

"Stuff like this ever happen to you?" Sam balanced one elbow on the rim and propped her head up. Strands of hair stuck out around her face. She looked young, and vulnerable.

"Oh, I'm a screw-up, all right." Aiden laughed. "Ask my colleague out there. Or better yet, don't."

"You seem smart, though." Sam's eyes grew bleak with drunken self-pity. "My brother's the smart guy in our family. Guess that makes me the joke." Her voice shrank to a whisper. Aiden leaned in. "You ever wonder..." said the girl. Pausing, she gathered her nerve. "You ever get scared? That one day you'll screw things up so bad you ain't never gonna be able to fix it?"

A desperate question, from one so young. Aiden frowned, and considered deeply.

"Nah," she said at last. "You do what you do, an' if it goes wrong - you take the consequences. Life's too damn short to be second-guessing every little move you make. You know what I think? Deep down, everyone's a screw-up. Some folk just wear better disguises, that's all."

The young girl stared at her, full of surprise. "Really? You think that?" Pushing upwards, she struggled to her feet. "I kinda like it." Aiden reached out a friendly hand, as she wobbled - and laughed.

"I swear," she confided, "I'm never gonna touch this damn stuff again."

"Until the next time," Aiden grinned.

Arm in arm, they left the bathroom. Sam waved goodbye as she joined the other girls. Wearing a strange expression, Danny nudged his colleague.

"Know who that was?" he asked her.

"Who?" Aiden wasn't really paying attention. She watched Sam leave, still thinking about that crazy question.

"Samantha Flack. Don's baby sister." Danny lowered his voice, but Aiden could still hear the hint of nervousness beneath his casual tone. "You gonna tell him, or should I?"

"I'm guessin' neither of us," Aiden said quietly, pleased to see him nod in agreement.

_We screw-ups need to stick together, after all..._


End file.
